Grass fire damages structures in Elk Grove area

A 57-acre grass fire that damaged two outbuildings, threatened horses and forced evacuations near Elk Grove has been contained, officials said.

No injuries were reported from the fire, which broke out in the 10400 block of Calvine Road, according to the Cosumnes Fire Department. Residents were evacuated from their homes on Chester Drive.

The department said the fire was contained shortly after noon.

Fire Chief Tracey Hansen said the blaze was “fairly large.” Officials determined that it was started by sparks from a lawn mower, Hansen said.

“It was in a dry field,” she said. “Any time the blades of a mower capture a rock or debris, it can spark and light a fire.”

Hansen said a Cosumnes Fire Department ordinance requires anyone who mows dry grass to do so before 10 a.m. or late in the evening, and to have an extinguishing agent nearby.

“It was not the case in this scenario,” she said.

The person using the mower could be found negligent under the ordinance. But Hansen said the fire’s location fell beyond Cosumnes’ boundaries and in the jurisdiction of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department.

Metro Fire will investigate to determine if the fire was recklessly caused, spokeswoman Michelle Eidam said.